ABOUT
Bobbie Gentry (b. 1942) is a highly acclaimed and influential country singer-songwriter with a style that also encompasses elements of pop, folk, blues, and soul who became famous during the late 1960s and early 1970s. She rose to international fame with the haunting and mysterious "Ode To Billie Joe" (1967), which topped the Pop/Rock charts and was later remade as the title theme to the 1976 movie starring Robby Benson and Glynnis O'Connor. This gripping story song is included in Rolling Stone's lists of "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" and "Greatest Country Songs," and it was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry.
Born Roberta Lee Streeter near Woodland in Chickasaw County, Mississippi into a poor family, she began writing songs at age 7 and learned to play the guitar and banjo. After graduating from high school, she enrolled at UCLA as a philosophy major then transferred to the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music, occasionally performing at local nightclubs and country clubs. Gentry signed with Capitol Records in 1967 and soon after released a long string of hits that also include the evocative "Fancy" (1969) and several duets with Glen Campbell that include "Let It Be Me" (1969), and "All I Have To Do Is Dream" (1970). From 1968-1971, she hosted her own TV variety show on BBC Two in the U.K. and also made numerous guest appearances on other BBC programs. After releasing several critically-acclaimed albums, Gentry gave her final public performance in 1981 on the NBC TV special, "An All-Star Salute to Mother's Day," before retiring from the music business.
Bobbie Gentry's numerous honors and accolades include three Grammys, two ACM Awards, and one CMA. She was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020.
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SONGS
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Bobbie Gentry And Glen Campbell
- All I Have To Do Is Dream 1970
(This song was previously a hit for the Everly Brothers (1958, 1961) and Richard Chamberlain (1963) and later also became a hit for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (1975) and Andy Gibb & Victoria Principal (1981).)
Bobbie Gentry
- Fancy 1969
- Ode To Billie Joe 1967
(This song topped the charts for Bobbie Gentry in 1967 and also became a hit that same year for the Kingpens and Ray Bryant. A new version of this song by Bobbie Gentry charted in 1976.)
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